A battle with breast cancer

The annual Komen Orange County Race for the Cure is all about

surviving. Just ask AnnMarie Piantoni, who ran in her second race

late last month.

She was among the race’s almost 24,000 participants, one of the

more than 1,600 survivors of breast cancer, easily -- and proudly --

visible in their bright pink T-shirts. It is for them that the race,

now in its 14th year, continues.

Those 24,000 people, at what is always among the top fundraisers

for the national Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, raised $1.8

million, with more money trickling in toward a lofty $2-million goal.

Piantoni and her group raised $2,300.

The majority -- 75% -- of that money stays in Orange County for

research and local Komen programs. It goes, in other words, to

ensuring there will be more survivors every year, more women -- and a

few men -- who have won the battle against breast cancer.

Support for their fight is unarguably crucial. According to the

Komen Foundation, there will be 211,240 new cases of invasive breast

cancer in American women this year. There will be an estimated 1,690

new cases of breast cancer in men. Some 40,410 women will die, as

will 460 men.

But the group also offers up hope. In Orange County, 5,000 needy

women have received mammograms through Komen grants. Community grants

in the county rose almost 50% between 2003 and 2004, to about

$700,000. Best of all, since 1990, the mortality rate for breast

cancer has been falling after 15 years of consistently rising.

For those reasons, the race is indeed all about surviving. But

there is always the sad knowledge that not everyone will live to see

next year’s race, that there are those already missing.

The race is also about them, and it will continue to be about them

until their numbers -- through the research paid for in part by Komen

funds and via the grants that help detect breast cancer at its

earliest, most treatable stages -- are reduced to zero.

Then the race will be about success.